they fixed this in chicago.they sold the rights to a private company (for a lowball price of course)the company raised the rates, increased the hours, put in boxes to replace individual meters, and upped the ticketing.

TADA, you can pretty much always find parking. cheap bastards had to stop parking for free and either get real parking or stop parking.

This has been a boon for businesses. Customers can actually park near their store?When my friends come to visit they can actually FIND parking in less than 12 days?

/cheap farkers are cheap. get over it. you really think parking should be free? downtown? in crowded neighborhoods? fark you

namatad:they fixed this in chicago.they sold the rights to a private company (for a lowball price of course)the company raised the rates, increased the hours, put in boxes to replace individual meters, and upped the ticketing.

TADA, you can pretty much always find parking. cheap bastards had to stop parking for free and either get real parking or stop parking.

This has been a boon for businesses. Customers can actually park near their store?When my friends come to visit they can actually FIND parking in less than 12 days?

/cheap farkers are cheap. get over it. you really think parking should be free? downtown? in crowded neighborhoods? fark you

Christ, back off on the Starbucks, nobody's asking for free parking. The point of the headline was to get some parking rates that are simple to learn.

namatad:they fixed this in chicago.they sold the rights to a private company (for a lowball price of course)the company raised the rates, increased the hours, put in boxes to replace individual meters, and upped the ticketing.

TADA, you can pretty much always find parking. cheap bastards had to stop parking for free and either get real parking or stop parking.

This has been a boon for businesses. Customers can actually park near their store?When my friends come to visit they can actually FIND parking in less than 12 days?

/cheap farkers are cheap. get over it. you really think parking should be free? downtown? in crowded neighborhoods? fark you

Dafuq?

CSB

I am related to a pretty famous Chicago politician by marriage (his wife was my aunt).

I'll give you a hint who it is: his name sounds like Richard M. Daley.

Why do I share this? Because even with that level of what should be personal bias, even I know the parking meter situation was an epic cluster fark.

namatad:they fixed this in chicago.they sold the rights to a private company (for a lowball price of course)the company raised the rates, increased the hours, put in boxes to replace individual meters, and upped the ticketing.

TADA, you can pretty much always find parking. cheap bastards had to stop parking for free and either get real parking or stop parking.

This has been a boon for businesses. Customers can actually park near their store?When my friends come to visit they can actually FIND parking in less than 12 days?

/cheap farkers are cheap. get over it. you really think parking should be free? downtown? in crowded neighborhoods? fark you

namatad:they fixed this in chicago.they sold the rights to a private company (for a lowball price of course)the company raised the rates, increased the hours, put in boxes to replace individual meters, and upped the ticketing.

TADA, you can pretty much always find parking. cheap bastards had to stop parking for free and either get real parking or stop parking.

This has been a boon for businesses. Customers can actually park near their store?When my friends come to visit they can actually FIND parking in less than 12 days?

/cheap farkers are cheap. get over it. you really think parking should be free? downtown? in crowded neighborhoods? fark you

This doesn't actually make anything more difficult for anyone. If you work in the downtown core and drive to work, you're asking for it. The whole point of all of this is to create revenue while discouraging people from driving themselves to the office in favor of public transportation/biking/walking. Mission accomplished.

namatad:they fixed this in chicago.they sold the rights to a private company (for a lowball price of course)the company raised the rates, increased the hours, put in boxes to replace individual meters, and upped the ticketing.

TADA, you can pretty much always find parking. cheap bastards had to stop parking for free and either get real parking or stop parking.

This has been a boon for businesses. Customers can actually park near their store?When my friends come to visit they can actually FIND parking in less than 12 days?

/cheap farkers are cheap. get over it. you really think parking should be free? downtown? in crowded neighborhoods? fark you

Shame Us:This doesn't actually make anything more difficult for anyone. If you work in the downtown core and drive to work, you're asking for it. The whole point of all of this is to create revenue while discouraging people from driving themselves to the office in favor of public transportation/biking/walking. Mission accomplished.

Yep. Parking rates were a big part of why I switched to light rail & buses whenever I work in Seattle. Luckily, I'm back to working in the Bellevue area.

Shame Us:This doesn't actually make anything more difficult for anyone. If you work in the downtown core and drive to work, you're asking for it. The whole point of all of this is to create revenue while discouraging people from driving themselves to the office in favor of public transportation/biking/walking. Mission accomplished.

New Slang:Shame Us: This doesn't actually make anything more difficult for anyone. If you work in the downtown core and drive to work, you're asking for it. The whole point of all of this is to create revenue while discouraging people from driving themselves to the office in favor of public transportation/biking/walking. Mission accomplished.

Even if parking was $0.50/hr downtown, it's still far easier to take public transportation to and from downtown Seattle. It's a total b*tch to find street parking and a total b*tch to get into and out of. Not to mention the traffic on the freeways is terrible even on weekends.

FormlessOne:Yep. Parking rates were a big part of why I switched to light rail & buses whenever I work in Seattle. Luckily, I'm back to working in the Bellevue area.

Even if parking downtown were cheaper and more readily available, it just...sucks...to drive in and around downtown. There would have to be numerous, widespread reports of bear attacks and alien abductions taking place on public transportation for me not to use it if that's where I worked.

Of course, even though I live just north of downtown I work on the Eastside so downtown parking matters fark all to me, really.

New Slang:Shame Us: This doesn't actually make anything more difficult for anyone. If you work in the downtown core and drive to work, you're asking for it. The whole point of all of this is to create revenue while discouraging people from driving themselves to the office in favor of public transportation/biking/walking. Mission accomplished.

All while decreasing public transportation options. Brilliant!

Yeah well. That's a whole other clusterf*ck. People want easier and more plentiful public transportation options, but keep voting down funding.

We were just in Seattle. Drove around, too. We were in despair trying to find parking near of our son's apartment building when Glinda the Good Witch appeared and granted us a parking space. Within 5 minutes 3 different guys with full beards had written songs (dirges) about out luck. (Maybe they weren't dirges, but they sounded like it.)

I can't even get to the farking QFC the way they've boned up Mercer. Seattle sucks for driving. Parking is only part of the problem. You're all idiots. I bus or walk almost everywhere now and you're all still trying to kill me. goddamn morons

Soup4Bonnie:I can't even get to the farking QFC the way they've boned up Mercer. Seattle sucks for driving. Parking is only part of the problem. You're all idiots. I bus or walk almost everywhere now and you're all still trying to kill me. goddamn morons

I have to drive a little on Mercer twice a day every day. Sorry for the attempted murder.

I appreciate that. Thank you. Now if I could just get the guy that tried to dart through the intersection at Bell & 3rd while making an unprotected left causing my bus to hit him, we might be getting somewhere.

This is why I avoid downtown like the plague. That and all the homeless/street people who hang outside every building and clutter up any parks/public seating areas. I feel like I'm in that homeless episode of Southpark every time I'm down there. Seattle's a nice city and all, but it's very stressful trying to traverse it.

I cringe a little whenever I get a client in downtown Seattle. Most days I'm glad I live way out in the Docks of Boon, but I'm a 30 minute drive from Everett Station to catch the bus or train to get into town. Driving into downtown makes me realize that I'm getting closer and closer to the day I'll become like my dad, a grumpy hermit.

epyonyx:New Slang: Shame Us: This doesn't actually make anything more difficult for anyone. If you work in the downtown core and drive to work, you're asking for it. The whole point of all of this is to create revenue while discouraging people from driving themselves to the office in favor of public transportation/biking/walking. Mission accomplished.

All while decreasing public transportation options. Brilliant!

God, I wish they would build that subway here.

With how much work it got to give the tunnel project the green light, how "well" Bertha is "working," and the dozens of studies requested for the impact of a new 520 Bridge, I'd say the likelihood of Seattle getting a subway system in our lifetime is slim to none.

LessO2:epyonyx: New Slang: Shame Us: This doesn't actually make anything more difficult for anyone. If you work in the downtown core and drive to work, you're asking for it. The whole point of all of this is to create revenue while discouraging people from driving themselves to the office in favor of public transportation/biking/walking. Mission accomplished.

All while decreasing public transportation options. Brilliant!

God, I wish they would build that subway here.

With how much work it got to give the tunnel project the green light, how "well" Bertha is "working," and the dozens of studies requested for the impact of a new 520 Bridge, I'd say the likelihood of Seattle getting a subway system in our lifetime is slim to none.

Yeah, it is a pipe dream. If they'd finagle the east siders then they might have a chance.

LessO2:epyonyx: New Slang: Shame Us: This doesn't actually make anything more difficult for anyone. If you work in the downtown core and drive to work, you're asking for it. The whole point of all of this is to create revenue while discouraging people from driving themselves to the office in favor of public transportation/biking/walking. Mission accomplished.

All while decreasing public transportation options. Brilliant!

God, I wish they would build that subway here.

With how much work it got to give the tunnel project the green light, how "well" Bertha is "working," and the dozens of studies requested for the impact of a new 520 Bridge, I'd say the likelihood of Seattle getting a subway system in our lifetime is slim to none.

The tunnel was always the stupidest, most expensive (both in terms of construction and future maintenance) and least likely to come in on time or under budget of any of the alternatives presented. Why would anyone think that the grey clay "earth" under a city built on a fault line, next to a saltwater harbor, was a brilliant place to put in an underground transportation system?

praxcelis:Wake Up Sheeple: This is how Seattle is paying for its lost tax revenue from $15/hr minimum wage that shut down all the businesses. Even Microsoft had to get rid of 15,000 workers recently.

What color yarn and pushpins did you use to make those hilarious "connections"?

I was just repeating the arguments used by the farkers who debated the minimum wage increase before it was voted on. So I guess it's somewhat troll/somewhat sarcastic -- pointing out the absurdity. Thanks for noticing. :)

Wake Up Sheeple:praxcelis: Wake Up Sheeple: This is how Seattle is paying for its lost tax revenue from $15/hr minimum wage that shut down all the businesses. Even Microsoft had to get rid of 15,000 workers recently.

What color yarn and pushpins did you use to make those hilarious "connections"?

I was just repeating the arguments used by the farkers who debated the minimum wage increase before it was voted on. So I guess it's somewhat troll/somewhat sarcastic -- pointing out the absurdity. Thanks for noticing. :)

Sigh. It's late in the day and my Poe meter needs calibrating. Here, have a completely imaginary virtual beer of your choice.

praxcelis:LessO2: epyonyx: New Slang: Shame Us: This doesn't actually make anything more difficult for anyone. If you work in the downtown core and drive to work, you're asking for it. The whole point of all of this is to create revenue while discouraging people from driving themselves to the office in favor of public transportation/biking/walking. Mission accomplished.

All while decreasing public transportation options. Brilliant!

God, I wish they would build that subway here.

With how much work it got to give the tunnel project the green light, how "well" Bertha is "working," and the dozens of studies requested for the impact of a new 520 Bridge, I'd say the likelihood of Seattle getting a subway system in our lifetime is slim to none.

The tunnel was always the stupidest, most expensive (both in terms of construction and future maintenance) and least likely to come in on time or under budget of any of the alternatives presented. Why would anyone think that the grey clay "earth" under a city built on a fault line, next to a saltwater harbor, was a brilliant place to put in an underground transportation system?

Where else were they going to expand? Water to the left, densely populated areas to the right.

They should keep digging....seriously. Start a tunnel that begins at the Duwamish Curves and exits at Northgate, no exits in between (okay, maybe for I-90 and 520), but create something that allows people to bypass the horrible downtown passageway.

Will never happen, but creating alternative routes like that is the only way Seattle can start thinking about fixing its infrastructure nightmare.

LessO2:praxcelis: LessO2: epyonyx: New Slang: Shame Us: This doesn't actually make anything more difficult for anyone. If you work in the downtown core and drive to work, you're asking for it. The whole point of all of this is to create revenue while discouraging people from driving themselves to the office in favor of public transportation/biking/walking. Mission accomplished.

All while decreasing public transportation options. Brilliant!

God, I wish they would build that subway here.

With how much work it got to give the tunnel project the green light, how "well" Bertha is "working," and the dozens of studies requested for the impact of a new 520 Bridge, I'd say the likelihood of Seattle getting a subway system in our lifetime is slim to none.

The tunnel was always the stupidest, most expensive (both in terms of construction and future maintenance) and least likely to come in on time or under budget of any of the alternatives presented. Why would anyone think that the grey clay "earth" under a city built on a fault line, next to a saltwater harbor, was a brilliant place to put in an underground transportation system?

Where else were they going to expand? Water to the left, densely populated areas to the right.

They should keep digging....seriously. Start a tunnel that begins at the Duwamish Curves and exits at Northgate, no exits in between (okay, maybe for I-90 and 520), but create something that allows people to bypass the horrible downtown passageway.

Will never happen, but creating alternative routes like that is the only way Seattle can start thinking about fixing its infrastructure nightmare.

The hardened viaduct option was far less expensive and would have carried more lanes the the existing one. It was also the ugliest and that's why the downtown businesses quashed it.

As a non-driver living in downtown I'm...!Also would like to point out that construction on something has closed an expensive commercial lot losing close to 100 spaces, plus at least 8 on street spaces!!Damn the A-hole who permits them to start work at 6:00AM!!!

praxcelis:LessO2: praxcelis: LessO2: epyonyx: New Slang: Shame Us: This doesn't actually make anything more difficult for anyone. If you work in the downtown core and drive to work, you're asking for it. The whole point of all of this is to create revenue while discouraging people from driving themselves to the office in favor of public transportation/biking/walking. Mission accomplished.

All while decreasing public transportation options. Brilliant!

God, I wish they would build that subway here.

With how much work it got to give the tunnel project the green light, how "well" Bertha is "working," and the dozens of studies requested for the impact of a new 520 Bridge, I'd say the likelihood of Seattle getting a subway system in our lifetime is slim to none.

The tunnel was always the stupidest, most expensive (both in terms of construction and future maintenance) and least likely to come in on time or under budget of any of the alternatives presented. Why would anyone think that the grey clay "earth" under a city built on a fault line, next to a saltwater harbor, was a brilliant place to put in an underground transportation system?

Where else were they going to expand? Water to the left, densely populated areas to the right.

They should keep digging....seriously. Start a tunnel that begins at the Duwamish Curves and exits at Northgate, no exits in between (okay, maybe for I-90 and 520), but create something that allows people to bypass the horrible downtown passageway.

Will never happen, but creating alternative routes like that is the only way Seattle can start thinking about fixing its infrastructure nightmare.

The hardened viaduct option was far less expensive and would have carried more lanes the the existing one. It was also the ugliest and that's why the downtown businesses quashed it.

As they should have. You can't always go for the Wal-Mart option with everything. I think it's more practical to move the traffic to a tunnel, less noise pollution along the waterfront, more space for more visually appealing things, and traffic may actually flow better.

LessO2:I think it's more practical to move the traffic to a tunnel, less noise pollution along the waterfront, more space for more visually appealing things, and traffic may actually flow better.

Except they are going to toll it and push all the traffic to the streets. There aren't any downtown exits. I do think a tunnel is the way to go. The current plan is pretty dumb, if they ever get it built.

Caffeine Induced Diarrhea:I always take the bus everywhere in Seattle. Its not too bad unless you're trying to cross downtown during rush hour. Leaving downtown on bus has always been crowded but bearable in terms of time.

The mono rail plan seemed like a great idea to aliviate traffic and parking problems.

Caffeine Induced Diarrhea:I always take the bus everywhere in Seattle. Its not too bad unless you're trying to cross downtown during rush hour. Leaving downtown on bus has always been crowded but bearable in terms of time.

The mono rail plan seemed like a great idea to aliviate traffic and parking problems.

Soup4Bonnie:LessO2: I think it's more practical to move the traffic to a tunnel, less noise pollution along the waterfront, more space for more visually appealing things, and traffic may actually flow better.

Except they are going to toll it and push all the traffic to the streets. There aren't any downtown exits. I do think a tunnel is the way to go. The current plan is pretty dumb, if they ever get it built.

That's what I don't get about toll roads. We're talking about a city that has some of the poorest traffic infrastructure in the country, does not have state income taxes and most people wouldn't think twice about dropping a $5 bill, sometimes multiple times a day, for a cup of coffee. Yet tolling....let's get the pitchforks and torches out.

Thank Tim Eyman for dropping the revenue on car tabs, which may have reduced or completely eliminated the need for tolls. People may complain about tolls, but in the end, it's the fairest way to pay for things like that.

You can't convince me that people are going to go from the Alaskan Way Viaduct area, through downtown, to I-5, go north, then hit Mercer Street, then re-join Highway 99 to save a couple of bucks. They'll lose more time and money in gas cost alone than what the tolls would cost.

People will drop their principle quickly if it means saving 30-60 minutes on a trip.

Caffeine Induced Diarrhea:I always take the bus everywhere in Seattle. Its not too bad unless you're trying to cross downtown during rush hour. Leaving downtown on bus has always been crowded but bearable in terms of time.

The mono rail plan seemed like a great idea to aliviate traffic and parking problems.

I don't know why people have such an aversion to public transit.

Because everybody thinks that some dude who hasn't showered in a week will sit next to them and puke on them. Repeatedly.

I don't know about the monorail idea, I didn't study enough of it. But if it meant people had to pay an extra penny out of their pocket in a given week, you can bet the Tim Eyman Moron Brigade would be out in full force.

But hey, at least we can still drop $5 or more for a cup of coffee every day.

Wake Up Sheeple: This is how Seattle is paying for its lost tax revenue from $15/hr minimum wage that shut down all the businesses. Even Microsoft had to get rid of 15,000 workers recently.

Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond. Most of the people laid off were former employees of Nokia, which was a Finnish company before MS took it over. Those employees were literally redundant, and not even in the USA let alone WA.

I can just about guarantee the custodial and cafeteria staff at the Redmond campus make more that $15/hour already.

epyonyx:LessO2: epyonyx: New Slang: Shame Us: This doesn't actually make anything more difficult for anyone. If you work in the downtown core and drive to work, you're asking for it. The whole point of all of this is to create revenue while discouraging people from driving themselves to the office in favor of public transportation/biking/walking. Mission accomplished.

All while decreasing public transportation options. Brilliant!

God, I wish they would build that subway here.

With how much work it got to give the tunnel project the green light, how "well" Bertha is "working," and the dozens of studies requested for the impact of a new 520 Bridge, I'd say the likelihood of Seattle getting a subway system in our lifetime is slim to none.

Yeah, it is a pipe dream. If they'd finagle the east siders then they might have a chance.

We are holding out for a wall, to keep people in Seattle.

I vote down every stinking tax, not because I hate good Government, but we have government employees making $200k-$400k a year. At the same time companies like Boeing will get a $9 billion tax break. And the average price per mile of road work is now at $5milion. Unless its over water, then it jumps to $500 million.

Everywhere you look, they are trying to build something new, and they won't repair any of the existing infrastructure. Drive around Seattle, and you'll feel like you are off-roading.

AirGee:Wake Up Sheeple: This is how Seattle is paying for its lost tax revenue from $15/hr minimum wage that shut down all the businesses. Even Microsoft had to get rid of 15,000 workers recently.

Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond. Most of the people laid off were former employees of Nokia, which was a Finnish company before MS took it over. Those employees were literally redundant, and not even in the USA let alone WA.

I can just about guarantee the custodial and cafeteria staff at the Redmond campus make more that $15/hour already.